Free NBA Picks and Odds: Los Angeles Lakers at Atlanta Hawks Expert Predictions – NBA Betting Preview 3/8/11: Shooting guard Kobe Bryant will lead the 2 time defending NBA Champion Los Angeles Lakers on the road to Phillips Arena to take on guard Kirk Hinrich and his new team the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday evening at 7:00 PM ET. Atlanta comes in on a 2 game losing streak at 37-26 – good for 3rd in the Southeast and 5th overall in the Eastern Conference – while the Lakers are on a 7 game winning streak and at 45-19 are 1st in the Pacific but 3rd overall in the Western Conference.
“We’ve improved a great deal. Defensively we’re minimizing our mistakes and not making as many mistakes as we were in the first half of the season,” said Kobe Bryant, who had a game-high 26 points. “I think that’s the big difference.” Coach Phil Jackson credits assistant coach Chuck Person for his work with the team defensively. “He’s really been good with the guys and has handled it pretty well,” Jackson said. “We’ve taken the extra time defensively in practice rather than doing as much execution offensively as we have in the past.” The odds makers at SBG Global have the Los Angeles Lakers a -4 1/2 point favorite at home against the Atlanta Hawks.
The Lakers are coming off a smack down of the NBA Leading San Antonio Spurs 99-83 on the road to move to 31-33 ATS. Bryant led the way with 26 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists while Pau Gasol chipped in 21 points and pulled down 6 rebounds and dished 5 assists and both sat out the 4th quarter. Bigs Andrew Bynum only scored 4 points but pulled down 17 rebounds and Lamar Odom came off the bench to score 15 points and grab 4 rebounds and 6 assists. LA Lakers are 4-1 SU in their last 5 games on the road. Vegas odds makers have the Los Angeles Lakers +280 to win the 2010-2011 NBA Championship.
The Hawks are coming off a 92-79 loss at home to the New York Knicks to move to 28-35 ATS for the season. Joe Smith scored 17 points and pulled down 11 boards while Hinrich added 15 points, 2 rebounds and 4 assists. Joe Johnson also poured in 14 points with 5 rebounds and Al Horford could only manage to score 4 points. Atlanta is 5-2 SU in their last 7 games when playing at home against LA Lakers and the total has gone UNDER in 5 of last 6 games. Vegas odds makers have the over/under for the total score at 185 points combined of the Los Angeles Lakers and Atlanta Hawks.
FREE PICK: LA Lakers -4.5
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MATCHUP: L.A. Lakers (45-19) at Atlanta (37-26)
GAME TIME: 7:05 PM EST
TELEVISION: LOCAL
Recent Lakers and Hawks NBA Betting Odds Trends:
LOS ANGELES LAKERS
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of the LA Lakers last 5 games
LA Lakers are 5-0 SU in their last 5 games
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of the LA Lakers last 10 games on the road
LA Lakers are 4-1 SU in their last 5 games on the road
LA Lakers are 4-2 SU in their last 6 games when playing Atlanta
LA Lakers are 2-5 SU in their last 7 games when playing on the road against Atlanta
LA Lakers are 2-5 ATS in their last 7 games when playing on the road against Atlanta
ATLANTA HAWKS
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Atlanta’s last 6 games
Atlanta is 3-6 SU in its last 9 games
Atlanta is 3-6 ATS in its last 9 games
Atlanta is 1-5 ATS in its last 6 games at home
Atlanta is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games at home
Atlanta is 15-6 SU in its last 21 games at home
Atlanta is 2-4 SU in their last 6 games when playing LA Lakers
Atlanta is 5-2 SU in their last 7 games when playing at home against LA Lakers
Opening Vegas Odds from Las Vegas
Favorite: LA Lakers -4.5
Total: O/U 184
* These are the Morning Lines at Las Vegas Hilton in Las Vegas
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